make the fireflies dance
by ratherembarrassing
Summary: Modern Family crossover. Mrs Lopez becomes Mrs Lopez-Prichett and Santana now has this whole crazy family to deal with Brittana. Prompt: 484 : during charades she pointed to herself and you guessed 'girl who wants to **** me'


(Mitchell sits facing the camera, his fist pressed against his mouth for a moment.

"Honestly, I'm kinda glad there's more of us in the family, now. Strength in numbers.")

…

Santana's mother, the former Mrs Lopez, now Mrs Lopez-Pritchett, had remarried when Santana was fourteen.

It had sucked, but she put on a happy face for her mom, who deserved this day more than anything. Plus she and Brittany, who was allowed to come to the wedding, had gotten tipsy on champagne they stole from people's tables. It was the first time Brittany ever touched her boobs.

Cam had made a joke at the time about Brittany being Santana's 'plus one' that he thinks back on as the moment he realized he had a gift, and that he was the Baby Gay Spotter. He's thinking of starting a website offering his services to questioning young people.

…

Somehow Alex ends up in one of her classes before Haley ever does. She would feel bad about having Alex slushied, but Santana respects the high school pecking order.

…

(Alex glares at the camera.

"She's a total bitch. But even Haley is scared of her, and that's hilarious.")

…

Santana and her mom have a weird relationship. They go shopping together, and watch Colombian soaps together, and Santana always backs her mother up with she's tricking Jay into something.

They're pretty close, but Santana's not a sharer by nature, and as she gets older she gets good at giving her mom answers that are the truth, but definitely not the whole truth. She had always told her mom about the boys she dated, gossiping like she would with Brittany and Quinn, but as things on that front became complicated she hadn't known how to put things into words for herself, let alone for anyone else.

She would come home late at night and her mother would still be up, stirring coconut milk as it simmered on the stove. Whenever she would ask how her date was, Santana would just sip at her hot chocolate and say it was fine, and her mom would ask her about Brittany and she would say she was fine, too.

It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the truth either.

…

(Claire looks a little frustrated.

"Okay, so maybe I am a little jealous of Gloria's relationship with Santana. Maybe I should try not snooping through the girls' things.")

…

One night at family dinner, Mitchell flips out and somehow Cam ends up on the floor covered in potato chips, and somehow that leads to everyone kissing and she just wants to die, because god, as if her mother isn't bad enough. She doesn't need any more touchy feely crap in her life.

But Brittany is there as usual, and she loves this stuff with Santana's family. She also loves doing cheer routines with Phil, but that's another story.

Anyway, Brittany catches her on the way back from the bathroom, and pulls her into the nook behind the stairs.

"Hey."

"Hi."

Then Brittany drops a tiny peck of a kiss on her lips, and Santana nearly loses her shit, but Brittany is stroking her hand down Santana's arm and she calms, knowing Britt would never do anything like that with people watching, people other than boys anyway.

"Your mom's right. Kissing means a lot of things."

Her eyes flick over Brittany's should for a second, but she knows everyone is settled in the lounge room already.

"Yeah," she breathes, and leans in for a real kiss. Just for a second.

…

(Jay drains the end of his glass before sitting back in his chair.

"I caught them kissing all the time. None of my, or anyone else's, damn business, until she wanted to make it that way."

He shrugs, but he's smiling at the camera.)

…

Things had been rocky to begin with. Jay was old enough to be her grandfather, gross, and she resented him on principle. But he never tried to parent her, and talked to her like she was an adult, even when her own mother still asked her embarrassing shit like if she had kissed Noah Puckerman yet, or if she needed tampons from the supermarket. Somehow both of these questions had been directed at her in a single conversation. As they stood outside her school. In front of a handful of PTA moms, including Claire, who had just said "ooooh, new boyfriend?"

Jay was the lesser of two evils in some respects, and she knew to keep her options open.

Plus he didn't rat on her when he caught her smoking his cigars, so he was okay in her books.

…

(Manny is holding a tiny espresso cup and saucer, fidgeting with the handle.

"I love my sister, I really do," he rushes, before deflating a little. "But now everyone's going to think I'm gay, too. Again! Can I help it if I like to dress nicely and I like the ladies." Manny shakes his head sadly.)

…

She and Britt dominate in games that don't involve general knowledge or math. It's hilarious watching Mitchell almost cry at the hands of seventeen year old girls. Santana can't help that they just have their own language that makes these things super easy.

It's almost a year since that night they had kissed by the stairs. A lot has happened since then.

They're about to start charades and Brittany is playing some hand clapping game that they used to play in middle school with Cameron, while her mother watches on and tries to learn the actions. They're all laughing and when Cameron gets lost in the speed of Brittany's motions, her mom laughs and clutches at Brittany's shoulders.

Santana could watch this scene unfold every day for the rest of her life, a warm glow of happiness fills every space in her chest at the thought.

Then everyone is crowding into the lounge room, and after Alex has nearly strangled Haley for not understanding that two fingers held up means two words, and Mitchell has reenacted the death scene from Black Swan, and Jay has laughed at Phil's attempt to mime boxing, it's Brittany and Santana's turn.

Brittany gets up and she's wearing this floating skirt that looks like cotton candy and her shirt is hanging off one shoulder, her hair down and spilling over her sun-kissed skin. Santana misses Brittany mime out a movie camera the first two times because she just can't tear her eyes away from Brittany's face, until it's scrunching up in annoyance. Brittany likes to win as much as Santana does, and she shakes her head to snap herself out of it.

It lasts as long as getting through guessing it's a movie, with three words, and this is the first word. Brittany raises her arm and points back at herself, and Santana feels the words bubble up in her chest before she even has to consciously think them, they're just there like a part of her being.

"The girl I'm in love with."

Brittany shakes her head for half a second before the words sink in, and everyone in the room goes completely silent, until-

"Ay, dios mio! Finally!" And her mom is launching herself across the coffee table and pulling Santana into a hug and kissing her cheeks over and over again as everyone in the room starts speaking all at once.

Brittany is still standing in her place when her mom finally steps back and lets her breathe and their eyes finally meet again. Brittany's got tears in her eyes as Santana rises and steps over Luke's legs, and whispers, "hey."

"Hi," she breathes, and then Santana practically smashes their lips together, because her mom had been right. A kiss can be worth waiting for, when it means everything all at once.

…

(Gloria sits on the sofa, dabbing at her eye with a tissue.

"I'm just," she sniffs a little. "The happy beginnings, they make me emotional."

The camera pulls back to reveal Santana sitting next to her mom.

"Endings, mom. You mean happy endings." She rolls her eyes, but you can see the smile she's holding back threatening to break through.

Gloria leans over, wraps her arm around Santana and kisses the side of her head.

"No I don't, baby. No I don't.")

…

(Brittany sits on the couch in the Lopez-Pritchett living room.

"Santana guessed wrong. But I liked her answer better, anyway.")


End file.
